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That’s NOT what I ordered!!! (Part 3 – No Marriage is Perfect)
In reality, there are very few “deals” that are truly “perfect”. Relationships, like a good marriage, take communication, patience and nurturing. It can’t be a one-sided affair. However, as you enter into the relationship, there are often “warning signs” that you must heed if you really want to get what you actually ordered. Here are a few of the things we’ve seen along the way that should raise your caution level at least to ORANGE (based upon The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Threat Level Index).
The old “bait and switch”…
You are visiting the factory after a long negotiation process and you are waiting to see your first real product sample (you took our previous advice obviously…). The sample is presented to you in a nice conference room, but there is only one (if you read our blog, you KNOW where this is going). It’s not a “rocket science” type of project or product that you’ve been working on and there likely won’t be any major design awards here. Being the savvy buyer that you are, you ask to “go and see the factory where the sample was made”. After a lot of discussion in Mandarin or Cantonese, and probably some "Chinglish" as well, they (the factory) tell you that your sample actually wasn’t “made” in that factory. It was made at a model shop, or some other factory actually produced the sample because the factory where you are sitting doesn’t really make that type of product. Or maybe it is made at a sub-contractor, a.k.a. the “shack” down the street where the 12-year-olds work. Chances are if you deal with this factory you will be saying, “That’s NOT what I ordered!”
You really only get what you pay for…
You (subtly) notice that the factory representative who you are working with actually speaks better English than you do. They (the factory representative) pick you up at your hotel in what appears to be a brand spanking new Mercedes SUV with all the bells and whistles (which in China BTW probably costs more than your house does in the States). The conversation on the way to the factory is about US topics; sports, politics and the like. You’re getting pretty comfortable here. As you get closer to the factory, you notice that the freeway turned into a two-lane road, and now you appear to be off-road on some dirty goat path heading toward a bunch of older buildings. As the vehicle slows, you turn into a compound with no exterior fencing or security gate (or security guard). Chances are if you deal with this factory you will be saying, “That’s NOT what I ordered!”
Susie doesn’t work here anymore…
You travel to the factory and the compound is secure and the place looks great. It’s early afternoon and lunch was magnificent (although the MSG is starting to kick in and you’re getting a little sleepy). As you walk the area (you DO walk the factory area, don’t you?) you begin noticing a lot of empty scooter/bike racks around the dormitories. As you walk back toward the main office buildings, you notice that there are plenty of parking spaces, but very few cars in attendance. As you continue your walk through the factory (production) floor, you notice that there are very few workers, and some of the production lines seem to be idle. Your host tells you that they are cleaning and re-tooling. As you walk through the warehouse area, you notice that some of the people checking boxes in and out look like the same people that were working on the factory floor when you reviewed that area about 20 minutes ago. Chances are if you deal with this factory you will be saying, “That’s NOT what I ordered!”
Sorry, but we had a Chinese holiday…
True, there are probably more Chinese holidays than there are days on the calendar (only kidding folks - these people work HARD, they deserve time off too). You’re waiting for your sample, which was supposed to have been completed. The factory tells you that for some reason (i.e. holiday) it has been unavoidably “delayed”. You thought you agreed upfront on when the sample needed to be completed, and you thought you were very clear with the factory on this. Still – the sample is late. A late sample delivery may very well be a sign that a factory didn’t really understand what you wanted, is not capable of producing it (I think I can, I think I can…), or contracted out for the sample in the hopes of learning to make it once you place an order. Chances are if you deal with this factory you will be saying, “That’s NOT what I ordered!”
Wow, this is EASY …
We’ll be the first to admit that no one likes to deal with problems. It’s just not fun. But the truth is, the lack of problems in a manufacturing world IS often a problem, and it could be a VERY BIG one. There are various Chinese phrases that seasoned observers begin to understand quite well, and when the phrase “no problem” is uttered, especially repeatedly, you know you have a big problem. “No problem” either means I can’t do it, but don’t want to upset you in person; I don’t understand what you really want; or a million other things that really aren’t good for you in the end. The lack of questions or problems in your relationship likely means either an extremely bright and capable factory or staff, or the specter of a real mess awaiting you in the future. You better get your fortune told. Chances are if you deal with this factory you will be saying, “That’s NOT what I ordered!”
So sorry…
You’re negotiating with the factory and now you are waiting for your acceptance or pre-production sample. Quite sheepishly, the factory representative tells you that they are sorry, but the cost of raw materials or production is too high for producing only one or a handful of samples. We’ll get you all the samples you want once we begin production. For the last time, chances are if you deal with this factory you will be saying, “That’s NOT what I ordered!”
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